School officials seek to get public involved in pressuring state lawmakers

By WILLIAM J. KEMBLE

Monday, February 11, 2013

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. -- School officials are seeking ways for the community to work with a district committee that can put pressure on state lawmakers for changes in budget funding practices.

Efforts to find more support in discussions with lawmakers were reviewed during a Board of Education meeting Wednesday.

Trustee Ruth Quinn said the committee has developed a web page that can be used to alert residents of issues that impact the district.

"We do have some longterm goals that we're going to be looking at such as quick links for our government representatives," she said. "That's always very helpful for the public to be able to quickly be able to engage. ... The capacity to do auto submissions and predrafted letters is another long-term goal that we might want to have when it comes to some position points that are really affecting us on some of the mandates."

Quinn noted that efforts to gain public support will also include working with other school districts on changes that are expected over the next 20 years.

"In 2013 the Ulster County School Boards Association is going to have a symposium of Ulster County stakeholders to shape a comprehensive educational vision for our county and answer the question what will Ulster County public schools look like in the year 2025," she said.

Former Trustee Kathleen Tobin-Flusser said the need to pressure state lawmakers on changes comes from mandates that increase local budgets.

"Here ... in New Paltz our property taxes have been rising while we've been cutting budgets and been reducing services," she said. "In the late '80s the state-provided portion of our school budget was 40 percent and up until 2009 it ranged from 30 to 40 percent. But for the past three years as we saw on the (district budget) chart the state contribution has dropped to about 25 percent."

Tobin-Flusser said the burden on districts creates strains among officials, staff, parents, and property owners.

"We're chopping up the kitchen table to keep the house warm," she said.

"The school district cuts programs, negotiates for union concessions to the best of my knowledge more than any other district in the county, fires teachers and staff, and contemplates closing schools, all while the number of students and our tax bills increase," Tobin-Flusser said. "Anything that is not state-mandated is in danger of being cut, not because we don't want these things for our children, don't believe in education, or don't want to invest in our future, but simply because there's no money."